Pride, Prejudice and Comic Books: Talking to Nancy Butler

Pride and Prejudice #1, due in stores in April
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of the most celebrated
and revered works of fiction in history. There are websites and blogs
dedicated to its author, spin-off books written in its style, and
multiple movies adapted from its story.
And beginning in April, the timeless story of Bingley, Darcy and the
Bennet sisters will be brought to life in a five-issue comic book from
Marvel Comics.

"This is a book that is beloved by everyone from academics to the
little old lady on the street," said the comic's author, Nancy Butler.
"Everybody loves this book. Hollywood loves this book; Bollywood loves
this book – the BBC production, the many movie versions, the many other
productions. The BBC just did all the Austen books. Bridget Jones Diary is just a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. At any point and time, there's someone filming a Jane Austen story somewhere."
Beyond the attention given to straight adaptations recently – like the
Oscar-nominated Keira Knightley movie of 2005 – Pride and Prejudice has
also been noticed by the throngs of fans of the Twilight book series. Bella, the main character in Twilight, is an avid reader of Austen novels, and Twilight's much-obsessed-over vampire Edward has been frequently compared to Pride and Prejudice's Darcy. Twilight actor Robert Pattinson recently told Newsarama
of his role as the gentlemanly Edward: "It's funny because teenage
girls are still obsessed with Mr. Darcy and Heathcliff and people like
that. It doesn't go away; it's still a male ideal and I guess Edward is
those [guys]."

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
Butler, who herself makes a living from Austen-mania as a writer of
novels set in the Regency time period, understands this timeless
attraction to Darcy and thinks his character is a key element of the
book's ongoing appeal.
"One of the reasons the story is so enduring is because Darcy
represents a new type of hero," explained Butler. "He's this shy, kind
of awkward man from nobility. He's not out slaying dragons. But he's
rescuing Lizzie in other ways, by dealing with Wickham and correcting
everything with Bingley. So this isn't a knight in shining armor, but
he is doing these very noble things. And he does it anonymously. He
rescues her sister and doesn't want anyone to know about it. He's a
different kind of hero."
In fact, the author admitted, his status as an anonymous hero makes him
ideal for comic book adaptation, since he came before other chivalrous
heroes like Superman and Spider-Man.

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
"He's an anonymous hero. That's a great tie-in right there to comic
books already. But you know, that's a problem in the Jane Austen world.
A lot of these Austen blogs – and there are a lot of them – they're all
like, 'oh, what is this comic going to be? Darcy in a cape and tights?
Or Darcy with huge muscles?'" Butler laughed. "And I've gone on there
in a couple cases and said, no, it's a very respectful story. No one
flies or repels bullets."
The purists among Austen fans may wonder about the idea of their
acclaimed novel being turned into a comic book, but Butler points out
that it's no different from a movie adaptation.
"It's very much like storyboards for a movie," said the author, whose
comic scripts are being penciled by Hugo Petrus. "Of course some had to
be cut or pared down. The scenes that everyone loves are in there. The
ones that show up in every movie -- those are in there.
"But Pride and Prejudice is tough because it's a lot of
talking heads," she said. "I talked to the artist, Hugo, who is
terrific, about ways he could angle his visual camera so that it's not
just a bunch of people sitting around in a drawing room talking. He's
got shots from outside a window; he's got shots from up above the
characters. There are no sword fights or people riding to the rescue,
so we're trying to figure out ways to make the panels more dynamic. And
I think he's doing a terrific job of that. He's what's going to make
this book. I'm basically retelling Jane's story, but he's had to come
up with a way to add dynamism to these scenes."

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
Yet Butler said the unique flavor of the book's talking scenes are also
part its charm, pointing out that many of today's romantic comedies in
film are merely loose adaptations of the verbal confrontations found in
Pride and Prejudice.
"To me, Jane Austen created the archetype of the battling couple.
They're not quite as volatile as Rhett and Scarlet, but there are all
kinds of sparks flying in Pride and Prejudice,"
she said. "Every time I go over the drawing room scenes and all the
great conversations, it's very clear to me that Jane Austen introduced
this concept of skillful banter between couples. That banter equals
foreplay. And that's very appealing to people. That's what all the
romantic couples in the movies are anymore. It's all about couples
sparring."
The Pride and Prejudice adaptation is part of the Marvel Illustrated line, which has been adapting various classic stories since May 2007, including Treasure Island, Moby Dick and Man in the Iron Mask.
While the line isn't one of Marvel's top sellers in comic book stores,
the ongoing interest in the collections – particularly from libraries –
has driven its success.
But Pride and Prejudice is a little different from past
Marvel adaptations because it's based on a book that specifically
appeals to women – something Butler herself pitched to the line's
editor, Ralph Macchio.

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
"I'm friends with Ralph and we talk about comic books all the time
because I'm a fan. And I told him, 'I think you should do something
that would be a little more geared toward female readers,'" Butler
said. "He said he thought the classics had broad appeal. But come on. Treasure Island's a boy book! It's written for boys. I'm not saying a girl wouldn't read it, but it's a boy book. Moby Dick is a guy thing. So anyhow, he said, 'Like what?' And I said, 'for instance, Pride and Prejudice.' And he said, 'Why? Is that popular?'"
Butler said that after she educated him on the book's popularity,
Marvel decided to give the "female" angle a chance – something that has
already proven to have attracted the book's fans.

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
"I think when Ralph and his staff decided to do this, they had no idea
this existed. People were coming into his office saying, 'I hear you're
doing Pride and Prejudice! I don't work in your division, but can I work on that project?' He was astonished," Butler said with a laugh.
Now it's up to Butler to not only satisfy the Austen-obsessed masses,
but translate a revered novel into five comic book issues that the
young readers of Marvel Illustrated will enjoy and understand.
"It was exciting until I started to do it, then I realized you're
tampering with the god-head, kind of," she laughed. "So yeah, it was
intimidating because I suddenly realized that all these people that I
was going to have to tell about it were going to be sitting in judgment
of what I did. As a writer of Regency novels, I always had a lot on my
shoulders as I wrote historical romances set in that time period. But
this is a whole new level.

art from Pride and Prejudice #1
"But I think I've captured the essence of the novel while still making
it accessible. I write in a style where I start out with kind of an
old-sounding vernacular. And I ease into a more modern tone," she said.
"I sent the first issue... and Ralph passed it around and got a lot of
people saying how surprised they were that I could shorten these
conversations and really get the essence of them and the flavor of
Austen without it having to be a hundred pages long. So I was very glad
to hear that. That's what I was trying to do – capture the flavor of
Austen."
Elsewhere on Newsarama:
9 to Watch in 2009: The Movies9 to Watch in 2009: The ComicsMarvel Announces Spider-Man 4 Date, Revises Film Schedule